Sweet!

What if you’ve blown it BIG time?  Now that’s SOUR!  But what if you get a second chance and then nail it?  Now that’s SWEET!

A famous Bible character who blew it, but got a second chance, was Samson the subject of our Men of Valor study this month.  In fact, his “do over” accomplished more than in his entire, stellar career! SWEET!!

Samson had been chosen and gifted by God to be a one-man demolition crew against his nation’s enemies, the Philistines.  As our Men of Valor teacher, Chris Pinedo, pointed out, Samson’s physical strength was legendary;  on one occasion he went through 1,000 Philistine soldiers like a buzz saw through cardboard!  But a character weakness marked him for life; playing with fire in the form of a Philistine temptress brought his defeat.

Samson became the laughingstock of his enemies when they blinded and enslaved him, but God’s plan to defeat the mocking nation had not yet reached its zenith.  When that day came, Samson was brought into the Philistine’s cavernous temple so they could scoff and revel in their victory over Samson and his God.  Little did they realize he was getting a second chance to complete his mission as God empowered his servant one more time. The Philistines came to see “The Samson Show”, but he “brought the house down”!  You can read Judges chapter 16 in the Bible to get details.  There we’re told Samson killed more Philistines that day than he had killed in his life. SWEET!!

Chris Pinedo reminded us that God is still a God of second chances today!

Greg Hood
Executive Director